"But soon, young Puck, with downy wings
and tiny feet, was falling far behind.
"Keep up, Duck!" quacked Mama Duck,
then she turned and swam on her way.
Puck looked at
all the beautiful boats
and wondered what to do.
How could he catch up?"
I would so love to read this book to the kindergarten kids I once taught! It is full of fun, repetitive text, and charming artwork.
Mamma Duck has seven ducklings and they are very much enjoying a swim on a sunny day. Mamma is in the lead, and Puck is at the end of the line. When they reach the boating lake, they are surrounded by boats of all types. The boats splash and splosh, while Puck falls behind the others. Mamma encourages him to catch up, and moves on. Puck wonders how he can use the boats to help him.
"Then, with a ...
Hop!
Hop!
Hop!
Plop!
He joined the ducks again!"
As they swim past the path filled with scooters and bikes, and the flower beds where people walk their dogs, Puck continues to fall behind ... and Mamma encourages him to catch up as the family moves forward toward the lily pond. By now accustomed to finding his own solution for moving forward quickly, Puck hitches a ride with an energetic pup and is launched into the lily pond. For the first time, Puck is in the lead! He welcomes his family with a rousing rendition of Mamma's advice:
"Keep up, Mamma! Keep up, ducks!
You're falling far behind!"
Watercolor and colored pencil artwork attracts attention from first to last pages. Readers will appreciate Puck's decidedly different look, with touches of brown on both head and wings. It looks very much as if he likes muddy banks and some mischief. His ability to find ways to catch up to the rest will elicit some giggles and admiration for his ingenuity. Being smaller doesn't mean that he ends up last.
The repetitive pattern of the text and the many sound effects will have listeners helping with the reading, and perhaps soon trying to read it independently.
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